Incumbent Sen. George Allen Jr. conceded the U.S. Senate race in Virginia to challenger Jim Webb this afternoon, clearing the way for Democrats to take control of the chamber next year.

"The people of Virginia, the owners of the government, have spoken," Allen said at a brief appearance in Alexandria, Va. "I wish Jim Webb well in the U.S. Senate and pledge full cooperation in the transition."

"The Bible teaches us there is a time and place for everything, and today I called and congratulated Jim Webb," he said.

The Associated Press called the race for Webb on Wednesday night after canvassing elections officials statewide. In the initial post-election count, with all precincts reporting, Webb led by a mere three-tenths of 1%, or 7,236 votes separated the two out of 2.3 million cast.

A Webb win gives the Democrats control of 51 Senate seats in the next session, assuming two independent senators vote for Democratic leaders as expected.

In a late afternoon rally, Webb thanked Allen for his service but noted, "This was a brutal campaign -- and in many ways, an unnecessarily brutal campaign -- and I think it's hurting the country."

Democrats wasted no time in celebrating Allen's concession, holding a rally on Capitol Hill less than an hour after Allen conceded.

"The election's over. It's time for a change. It's time for bipartisanship, it's time for open government and it's time for results," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who almost certainly will become the chamber's majority leader next year.

Both candidates had largely kept quiet after an emotional and frustrating election night that saw them trading miniscule leads hour-by-hour. Webb inched ahead at the very end, culminating a sometimes vicious campaign marked by character attacks and negative ads.

On Wednesday morning, Allen's supporters were quick to point out that Webb had an exceptionally thin lead — the Associated Press reported 7,236 votes separated the two out of 2.3 million cast, just three-tenths of 1%. Unofficial tallies on the Commonwealth of Virginia's website indicated late Tuesday that roughly 5% of precincts hadn't yet reported.

Michael Traugott, a University of Michigan political science professor who worked for the now-defunct Voter News Service, pointed out that the AP relied on actual votes for its call, not exit polls. That, he said, is reassuring.

But Traugott said he is concerned that about half the localities contacted by the AP had not completed their canvassing. He said the political leanings of those localities are crucial in determining whether the call for Webb was a smart one.

Former Virginia governor Mark Warner, a Democrat, declared that Webb "will be a great addition to the United States Senate."

And in a page from President Bush's political playbook from the contested 2000 election, Webb took steps to try to seize victory before it had been officially declared. Early in the day Wednesday he named three members of his transition team, and his campaign headquarters staff started referring to him as "Senator-elect."

No candidate who has gone into a statewide recount ahead by several thousand votes has ever come out on the losing end when it was over, Warner said.